Destinations known | China’s ‘daka’ tourists show that post-pandemic travel will be no more meaningful

A post-pandemic utopia – a world in which we address historical wrongs and the systemic oppression that continues because of them, and are consequently kinder to each other and to the planet that supports us – is, unfortunately, only an idea. Even as coronavirus cases surge elsewhere – from Brazil and the United States to India and Russia – in countries that have already emerged from lockdowns, there are indications the “new normal” will be similar to that which came before.

Take China, for example. Since first being allowed to do so, in the late 1990s, the Chinese have shown that they are serious about travel. Last year, 169 million outbound trips were made by Chinese tourists, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. And just because international travel is currently off the menu, it doesn’t mean that the appetite for adventure has abated.

Speaking to state-owned broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN) recently about the resurgence of the domestic tourism market, the CEO of Airbnb China, Peng Tao, noted a number of new trends: the rising popularity of destinations that can be reached by car; an increased consideration for health and hygiene; and a new philosophy, “Travel is for difference, not distance”.

While the first two are prudent, given that we are navigating a global health crisis, Destinations Known takes issue with the accuracy of the latter. As attractive as it is to maintain that travel will become more meaningful when we get back on the pro­verbial (or perhaps literal) road, evidence suggests otherwise.

On July 6, CGTN reported that Zhanjiang, an erstwhile unremarkable city in Guangdong province – TripAdvisor lists a grand total of 13 “sights and landmarks” to visit, among them a sports centre – is experiencing a “tourism boom”. The reason? Hit television show The Bad Kids. When the series became an instant success, so did the city in which it is set.